Close call for Salt Lake City firefighter battling blaze
Dec 13, 2018, 12:46 PM | Updated: 12:47 pm
KSL TV
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City firefighter managed to escape without injury after he fell through the floor of a burning building overnight.
Crews were called to 945 South 300 West to respond to the two-alarm fire. The building was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived. The building was vacant, but the fire department says it still had power and gas connected, which they had to turn off when they got there.
The firefighter was on the second floor when the building partially collapsed.
“That firefighter went through the floor,” said Battalion Chief Kelly Carter. “Mayday was immediately called, which prompted me to activate the RIC company. By the time RIC gets to the front door, eh’s already self-extricated.”
Carter says RIC stands for Rapid Intervention Crew.
“RIC activation… means crews had to go get him and bring him to medical,” Carter says.
However, by the time crews got to him, he had managed to pull himself free.
“It’s always a big concern of ours, just making sure our people are safe. That’s why we set it up the way we do,” Carter says.
The firefighter who fell did not require medical treatment. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Carter says the damage to the building is estimated at about $100,000.
